Wolfpack holds off Demon Deacons

Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 28, 2021

Associated Press

RALEIGH — Devon Daniels had 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to help N.C. State beat Wake Forest 72-67 on Wednesday night and snap a four-game losing streak.

Jericole Hellems added 17 points for N.C. State (7-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Wolfpack, who had two games postponed early this month, won for the first time since beating Boston College 79-76 on Dec. 30.

Daniels and Shakeel Moore made back-to-back 3s, and after Okpomo made a layup at the other end, Daniels hit two more 3-pointers in a 17-2 run that made it 25-14 midway through the first half and Wake Forest trailed the rest of the way.

Ismael Massoud hit a jumper with 7:09 left in the first half and the Demon Deacons missed their 12 field goal attempts before Isaiah Mucius made a layup 89 seconds into the second half.

Daivien Williamson made 9 of 14 from the field and finished with 22 points — 20 in the second half as Wake Forest (4-7, 1-7) rallied but, ultimately, fell short.

Moore his a 3-pointer to give N.C. State its biggest lead of the game at 53-34 with 11 minutes to play but the Demon Deacons scored nine of the next 10 points and later used a 9-0 run to trim their deficit to 58-52 when Williamson hit a 3 with 3:30 remaining. They pulled within five three times in the closing minutes but got no closer.

UNC Greensboro 81,  Mercer 68

GREENSBORO (AP) — Isaiah Miller had 22 points as UNC Greensboro defeated Mercer. Keyshaun Langley had 12 points and six assists for UNC Greensboro (11-5, 6-2 Southern Conference), which won its fifth consecutive game.

Angelo Allegri added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Hayden Koval had 11 points.

Felipe Haase had 17 points for the Bears (10-5, 3-4).

VMI 87, Western Carolina 61

LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — Greg Parham had 23 points as VMI easily defeated Western Carolina.

Parham shot 5 for 7 from deep. He added six rebounds.

Sean Conway had 14 points for VMI (9-8, 4-4 Southern Conference). Jake Stephens added 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Kamdyn Curfman had 10 points.

Mason Faulkner had 15 points and six rebounds for the Catamounts (7-8, 0-6), whose losing streak stretched to six games.

UCF 71, East Carolina 64

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Darin Green Jr. posted 18 points and six rebounds as Central Florida topped East Carolina.

Darius Perry had 13 points and six rebounds for Central Florida (4-6, 2-5 American Athletic Conference), which ended its five-game losing streak. Brandon Mahan added 12 points.

Central Florida dominated the first half and led 42-25 at the break. The Knights’ 42 first-half points marked a season best for the team.

Jayden Gardner had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates (7-5, 1-5), who have lost four consecutive games. Tremont Robinson-White added 18 points.